The tour guide picked us up in front of 明桂米粉. The tour guide was a young woman who only spoke Chinese since everyone in the tour group except for us were Chinese. I ended up attempting to translate the information she said to my friends. Our first stop in the tour is not Yangshuo but a shopping center, which the tour guide honestly told us that she relies on commissions from tourist purchases since she can’t live off her meager salary and that she doesn’t get tipped. We spent close to an hour at the shopping center, making my friends and I all frustrated.

First stop: A cruise to tour the area between Guilin and Yangshuo

Originally thought the tour included a full-length cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo, we were, of course, quite annoyed and disappointed at the fact that we are only touring a part of it and then taking the bus to Yangshuo. It didn’t help that the cruise was filled with loud, obnoxious Chinese tourists. However, since we paid for the tour, we took advantage and took as many photos as possible with the enchanting scenery. Even though it was misty, the fog provided a mystical effect. About an hour later, we arrived back at the port and made our way to the bus. We lunched at a place in Yangshuo with a view of the Moon Hill. Hearing about the beer fish as the local specialty dish, we ordered one to give it a try --- it had a lot of bones but it was delicious! After lunch, we had two more stops --- one was at a temple and the other at Dragon’s Cave, which was similar to the Reed Flute Cave that we visited on the first day.

Next stop: Moon Hill

My friend Maddie and I wanted to stay longer in Yangshuo after the tour ended, so we notified the tour guide of our plan. We rented two bikes and decided to bike to the Moon Hill and take a hike up. Hiking in China mainly comprises of stairs and more stairs so it took quite some effort to climb up the hill. It was amazing to finally reached the top and look afar into the city of Yangshuo half concealed by the fog. After a break, we made our way down and decided on our next stop: West Street. It would take close to 2 hours to walk there but since we are biking, it would take less than an hour. As we continued biking to West Street, it became darker but I was relieved that I had a friend with me or I don’t think I would have made it.

Last stop: West Street

​West Street was used to be an area where foreigners settled and did business; that is how the street got its name. But now it has become more localized so it is similar to Suzhou’s Pingjiang Road and Hangzhou’s Hefang Street. Maddie and I chose a restaurant to eat at and ordered another dish of beer fish. This time we got to choose the fish and watch how the server weighs it. We both felt that this one tasted a lot better than the one we had for lunch. After dinner, we walked for a little bit and bought some souvenirs before heading to the bus station to take the bus back to Guilin for only 20 RMB, which we learned about from the tour guide. We finally arrived back around 12 pm but, no doubt, this was one of the best part of the trip to Guilin!